EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) is a standard that was published in its first version in 2007 and essentially defines interfaces for the registration and retrieval of so-called EPCIS events. EPCIS enables users (companies, authorities, supply chains, etc.) to increase transparency and control of their respective sequences. EPCIS can be used not only within one company but also between companies (see: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPCIS).
The term intelligent power network (also referred to here as smart grid) includes the communicative networking and control of power generators, storage devices, electric consumers and network equipment in energy transmission and distribution networks of the electricity supply. This type of networking enables an optimization and monitoring of the connected components. The aim here is to safeguard the energy supply on the basis of an efficient and reliable system operation (see: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Grid).
The increasing expansion of renewable energies and the resulting rise in fluctuating, uncontrollable and therefore unpredictable power feeds into an energy supply network (also referred to as a power network) jeopardizes the security of supply and network stability. A corresponding expansion of the energy supply network is frequently neither feasible in a timely manner nor advisable from an economic point of view. For this reason, alternative strategies for an efficient use of the power network are increasingly proposed.
One possibility for configuring network use more efficiently is the introduction of additional information technology (IT) in the power network; a power network of this type is often referred to as an “intelligent power network” or “smart grid”.
On the basis of an IT infrastructure of this type, coordination mechanisms can be used to increase network utilization and/or network stability. However, the development of suitable coordination mechanisms is not yet available and the corresponding concepts are in most cases expensive to implement, since a new infrastructure is required for coordination and control of consumers.
A further disadvantage is that the known coordination mechanisms are used for devices which are simple to control, such as air-conditioning systems or heating pumps. A coordination of large consumers such as industrial installations is significantly more complex and requires different and, if necessary, more complex coordination mechanisms.